


Family Christmas

by dancey94



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Omega, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-07 15:24:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8806099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancey94/pseuds/dancey94
Summary: It's their second Christmas together. Fate seems to work against them but there is nothing that could ruin the holiday.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [deafmusiq](https://archiveofourown.org/users/deafmusiq/gifts).



It was their second Christmas together. Hannibal had taken it upon himself to prepare the dinner, while Will was assigned to decorate the house however he wished. Lecter had bought _plenty_ of new ornaments and baubles for his husband to use. Yet, Will secretly sneaked one of his old boxes where he kept his own favourite ornaments.

Early in the afternoon, on Christmas Eve, Hannibal realised his perfectly planned dinner was ruined. The electricity was cut off and all the lights went out along with every device running on electric power. It could not have gone any worse, Hannibal thought. The previous Christmas had been somewhat spoilt when Will had gone down with the flu. This year’s Eve was supposed to be better.

Hannibal was prepared for every scenario and ready to make it work in the worst circumstances. He took a flashlight and went to the basement to make use of the power generator he had bought some time ago. Hope that it still worked disappeared from his face when the generator would not make a sound indicating that it was as ready to work as much Lecter was.

“The ad promised unlimited and infinite-”

Bark!

Hannibal felt something bump into him. He pointed the flashlight onto his feet to check which of the two of their dogs it was. The wet nose and big sad eyes were the hallmarks of Claire – a terrier which had once crossed the road and made Will’s heart melt. They just _had to_ take him home.

“Why are you not with Will? Go and help Will.” Hannibal ordered the dog and tried turning on the power generator once more. All for nothing. It wouldn’t work. Claire kept staring at Lecter’s resigned face, which, surprisingly, didn’t add to the man’s annoyance, but rather lifted his spirit.

“Come.” Hannibal said and left the basement. Claire followed obediently.

Even before they reached the living room, Hannibal could smell it – something was burning. But it wasn’t their dinner. It was something else. The smoke had a pleasant scent and transmitted a faint sense or warmth along the corridor. The space in the house was filled with Christmas spirit all of a sudden.

It hit him hard when he realised it was getting dark outside, yet the living room was brightly illuminated. There were candles everywhere. It added to the romantic nature of Christmas.

Will was squatting by the fireplace, trying to start the fire, to make it even warmer and lighter inside. The sight made Hannibal’s heart swell with pride and joy. His husband never ceased to evoke a certain sentimental feeling, one that was extremely difficult to contain within himself. A wide smile appeared on Lecter’s face as he approached Will by the fireplace.

“So I guess that can become a Christmas tradition of sorts – something going terribly wrong and us having to deal with that in order to save Christmas.”

Will smiled when he spoke and Hannibal could not utter a word. His husband’s warm, innocent smile always rendered him speechless. In all the drama and disaster, Will managed to remain calm and reassuring. That was another incredible characteristic of Hannibal’s partner, one that he wished he himself had possessed. But even the most patient man in the world sometimes lost his temper. Even with the poker face Hannibal could easily assume, he would suffocate and boil underneath.

Never with Will, though.

“It would seem so. Although, I would rather avoid repeating the situation next year.”

Will laughed openly at that statement.

“It’s cute that you’re still trying.”

Hannibal frowned at that, which made Will’s smile fade.

“I meant… You’re cute.”

Lecter could never stay angry at Will and the kiss that he received was a perfect excuse to keep forgiving Will everything. Will was blushing slightly when he pulled back, which made Hannibal wonder – was it the kiss, the alcohol or the Christmas spirit and the man’s enthusiasm? Whichever the correct answer was, Will looked beautiful. The colour suited him.

“I have an idea.” Will announced and rose, grabbing Hannibal’s hand to lift him up as well. “You took great care of me last year. How about you sit down on the couch and let me take care of you this year. Don’t worry. Everything will be perfectly fine.”

Will was very accommodating and making it hard to resist so Hannibal nodded and collapsed on the couch. Instantly, Claire and Riley (the other dog) jumped at him and lay down next to him.

With his husband not present in the room, Hannibal felt a pang of loneliness and inadequacy. All he had wanted was to please Will and organise a perfect Christmas. Instead, he was left with just that feeling of failure and disappointment.

Will returned to the room a few minutes later, carrying a pile of blankets.

“I need you to sit as comfortably as you can.” The man ordered and, when Hannibal nodded, indicating he was ready, covered his husband in one of the warm blankets. It was made of fleece and wool. Its fluffy texture made Hannibal want to disappear, to crawl inside it and never have to face the world again.

“Where are you going?” Lecter asked, scared to death, when Will was about to leave the room again.

“I’m getting us Christmas dinner.”

“Will, there is no-”

“Shhh…” Will put his thumb on Hannibal’s lips and then swiped it gently. “Don’t worry, remember?”

With that, he left, once again abandoning Hannibal in their living room filled with scented candles and furry friends. In that room was everyone Will loved and Lecter was certain of that.

He blinked when he saw what Will had in his arms as he walked into the room.

“I was going to use this bucket of ice cream to make dessert.” Hannibal muttered.

“Well, it’s our Christmas dinner now. Move a bit.”

Lecter unfolded another blanket and held it until Will settled comfortably on the couch next to him. Then, he wrapped his husband in the fluffy material and sighed when he felt the warm body press against him. Their thighs and shoulders were touching, making Hannibal’s blood flow quicker.

Will uncapped the bucket and inhaled loudly, enjoying the scent of the ice cream. Simple pleasures were what he appreciated the most. Hannibal taught him that even though he himself tended to forget that.

“Are you really going to eat it straight from the bucket?” Hannibal asked when he noticed Will hadn’t brought any plates.

“Oh, no, dear. _We_ are.” The man announced with a wide smile.

“I hope you at least brought two spoons?”

It wasn’t fear exactly what danced in Hannibal’s eyes but possibly a spark of playful annoyance.

To tease his husband further, Will blinked a few times, feigning innocence, unawareness and then, a slight note of offence.

“What? You won’t eat with the same spoon as I do? Do I disgust you?”

Hannibal was about to start explaining himself but he noticed the beginning of the smirk dancing on Will’s lips.

“Why don’t you feed me?”

Will’s eyes widened at the suggestion but he quickly recovered, dived the spoon into the bucket and then shoved it into Hannibal’s mouth, all the while looking straight into the man’s eyes. They loved a challenge. They loved challenging each other.

Then, Hannibal took the spoon from Will’s hand and gently fed his husband.

“Mmmm…” A moan escaped Will’s mouth and he had to close his eyes. He was elated. The evening was far from ruined.

They kept eating the ice cream and petting the dogs which were cuddling next to them on the couch. It lasted for some time, with nothing else but silence around them, broken by the cracks of the fire and occasional murmurs of the dogs.

“When do we open the presents?” Will asked, finally, with his eyes glistening.

“Well, since you’re so eager… Come.”

Hannibal rose from the couch, taking Will’s hand, and tucked the blankets under his other arm. He spread the blankets on the carpet next to the Christmas tree to create a nest of sort. The dogs settled comfortably next to the men.

Will’s childlike enthusiasm was priceless. He couldn’t wait any longer and began opening the presents. A sense of guilt and shame awoke in the man as he knew all the small and bigger boxes under the tree were for him. Will had left no gift for Hannibal under the tree but that was only about to be revealed. In the meantime, Will took pleasure in unwrapping the following boxes.

Among the dozen of presents were pieces of clothing, jewellery, books and Lecter’s own poems and compositions. They represented Hannibal’s love and devotion.

By the time Will opened the last present, it had become obvious to Lecter that there was nothing for him under the tree. The man acted natural and indifferent as he assumed Will’s gift was somewhere else and it that his husband was trying to surprise him. He could have never predicted the seriousness of that surprise.

After Will had unwrapped the last box and expressed his thanks for the thousandth time, he hugged Hannibal tightly. Lecter felt how grateful his husband was and he could smell his love on him, despite the room being thoroughly filled with the scent of candles, smoke and the dogs.

“I love you. But you know that already.” Will said and tears started forming in his eyes. Hannibal began to fear that there was something wrong, something bad that was about to unfold.

“It doesn’t diminish the value of that statement if you repeat it from time to time.” Hannibal reassured, hinting that he didn’t mind hearing Will say that he loved him.

“Is there a limit? At what point will my words become worthless?”

“Never. As long as they’re true.”

“I love you.” Will repeated and buried his face in his husband’s collarbone.

They remained in the loving embrace for a while, with the dogs getting seemingly impatient. Claire brushed her nose against Hannibal’s hands while Riley simply lay down and was preparing to sleep.

“Are you ready for your gifts?” Will asked after a moment and pulled back to look his husband in the eyes.

“Is there more than one?” Hannibal raised his eyebrows, genuinely surprised and instantly interested in what Will had got him.

“Maybe.”

Will answered shyly and glanced under the tree. A big white envelope magically emerged in the place Hannibal thought was empty. Lecter reached for the envelope, already creating scenarios and forming ideas in his mind what it could be. The most plausible option were tickets for an opera event, which was a satisfactory enough gift.

As Hannibal was opening the envelope, he caught a smirk on Will’s face. It was a victorious gesture.

Indeed, what Hannibal pulled from the envelope were two tickets for the New Year’s event at the opera. It included the V.I.P. seats and unlimited access. To the champagne and the performers.

Hannibal smiled warmly and kissed Will gently. He was happy. He didn’t need an expensive or sophisticated gift, although, to be honest, Will had most likely spent his whole salary on that tickets.

Nevertheless, Will was all he wanted and needed. The very sight of him was enough for Hannibal. And he was lucky to have that every day.

But Will wasn’t done. It became clear when he laughed openly, unable to contain it any longer.

“You’re cute. You wouldn’t say anything even though you gave me dozen of different presents and I gave you just one, and a very obvious one to that.”

“I appreciate the gesture, Will. But you and what we have together is what is the most important to me. I enjoy buying you different things and showering you with physical tokens of my affection but that’s not real proof of love. It’s just a bonus.”

“I know. Still, I like that so don’t stop.”

They laughed and shared another kiss.

“You said ‘what we have together’. So, actually, ‘what we have together’ is this house, our two beautiful dogs, lazy weekends, busy weekdays…”

“…domesticity, sense of completeness…” Hannibal added, earnestly.

“A sort of a family?” Will asked hesitantly.

“A real family.” Hannibal confirmed.

“A real family.” Will repeated, rolling the words in his mouth, checking how they felt. “Yes, I guess that’s even more true now…” Will sighed and waited for Hannibal to take a hint.

After a moment, Lecter’s eyes widened and his expression became deadly serious. So much so that Will feared he wasn’t about to announce a happy message but rather shatter the fragile illusion of his own happiness.

Fortunately, Hannibal’s lips started forming a smile but the man was still waiting for his assumption to be confirmed. So Will continued.

“…now that we’re going to be parents.”

The vision was born between them instantly. In a year they would be celebrating Christmas with their child.

Nothing, no present, no expensive gift could compare with that news. Will was relieved. After all, his present beat everything Hannibal could dream of and everything he was able to give Will.

The realisation of that fact made Lecter cry. Right there and then, in their soft nest on the carpet, Hannibal began to sob. Will embraced his husband and rocked him in his arms.

Will wanted to act lightly and try to pretend like that wasn’t a big deal. Hannibal, on the other hand, was looking for every great aphorism or any suitable words for that moment. Yet, neither of the men succeeded. They were both speechless. Indeed, what could they say?


End file.
